1. The Xbox 360

Back in the mist-shrouded first days of the new century, Microsoft announced that its role in the gaming world was about to move from a peripheral player that concentrated on a few key games to a central figure in the console-gaming realm. And indeed, in the fall of 2001—on November 15, 2001—the Microsoft Xbox arrived.

The Xbox promised incredible gaming power based on existing computing technology, and it certainly delivered. While not the dominant force in the market, the Xbox carved out a niche for itself, and four years later (almost to the day) the Xbox 360 arrived to take Microsoft’s gaming dream to the next level.